The American Riviera: Santa Barbara, CA

Jill's Journal: Oh, Santa Barbara. How lovely you are. We’d stopped by here for a few hours with the girls while passing through in 2008 and I’d also been here for a handful of weekends after high school to visit a friend attending a local college. But it doesn’t get old. Santa Barbara is beautiful. Santa Barbara may even be exquisite. It’s the perfect place for adults to get away for a weekend and I imagine living here would be awfully nice. But, to be honest, there’s not much for kids here on a visit. Sure, there’s the beach and a zoo and even a teddy bear museum, but Santa Barbara’s signature activities – resorts, culinary delights, wine tastings, massages, spas, boutiques, shopping, people watching, etc. – don’t hold a lot of water for young kids.

And so, reluctantly (at least on my part!), we spent just a full day in Santa Barbara instead of a week. The Spanish Colonial architecture, the Mediterranean climate, and the unusual east-west section of coastline (instead of north-south) all contribute to Santa Barbara’s moniker as the “American Riviera.”

We hit just a few of the highlights, including State Street. This is the main drag through town and a few miles always full of action. In just a few moments, we spotted an Occupy demonstration and a crazy man having a full-on conversation with a tree. No word on the tree’s reply.

Stearns Wharf, where State Street meets the ocean, is California’s oldest working wharf and the longest deep-water pier between Los Angeles and San Francisco. Completed in 1872, it was once owned by screen legend Jimmy Cagney and his brothers. The dolphin statue is at the entrance to Stearns Wharf.

And this shot was taken from the end of the wharf looking back toward Santa Barbara. It was an unusually hazy day.

You don’t see these everywhere!

Pelicans, pelicans, and more pelicans.

Public art dominates the shore along the wharf.

Back to land...the Moreton Bay Fig Tree is believed to be the largest tree of its kind in the United States. In the 1870s, a seaman gave the tree, then a seedling from Australia, to a Santa Barbara girl. She planted it. To say it thrived in the climate here is an understatement. It’s now a city and historic landmark.

The Santa Barbara County Courthouse, built in 1929, is considered the “grandest Spanish Colonial Revival structure ever built.”

We headed to the top of the courthouse’s clock tower, “El Mirador” (or viewpoint). On a clear day, the 360 degree view is supposed to be spectacular and includes the Channel Islands off the coast. Since we happened to pick what is probably the one hazy day Santa Barbara has all year, our view was much more limited but still lovely.

The inside of the courthouse is gorgeous, with the Mural Room being the showpiece. We caught the tail end of a wedding here.

A wonderful little beach hideaway is One Thousand Steps Beach. No, it doesn’t really take 1,000 steps to get to the Pacific, but the girls counted and there are nearly 200.

The girls had such fun playing in the surf. Because we weren’t done with our day, they were under strict orders to keep their pants dry. It didn’t happen. Two of them were so drenched they had to ride home in their underwear! What fun they had.